Circumstance: A Coincidental Fairytale
by koobabear
Summary: A coincidental fairytale.
1. Prelude: Five Points of a Shooting Star

**Circumstance: A Coincidental Fairytale**

**Full Summary: **Ichigo is the knight, off to restore his honor. Ishida is the peasant, off to save his one true love. Orihime is the princess Ichigo's supposed to rescue. Ulquiorra is the conquistador, and what he does is his business, thank you very much. Oh, and Rukia is the damsel-in-diplomacy turned diplomat-in-distress by Mr. Not-So-Prince-Charming. Oh no! Where _will_ this all lead? An AU. An IchiRuki fairytale. An experimental piece.

**Disclaimer: **Ha, ha, ha… you think Kubo Tite would spout out this crap?

**Word Count: **About 780

**AN: **Okay, I don't believe in ANs at the beginning, but this chapter is way longer than I intended it to be. Just an FYI: other chapters will not be this long (or dark – this is a happy piece). I'm waaaay too lazy for that.

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**Prelude: Five Points of a Shooting Star**

-----

His eyes closed as he ran his fingers through his bright orange hair. His chest heaved upwards, and then relaxed as he breathed out.

_Out_._ In_.

"I don't really care about honor," he said. "Especially not this kind. Especially not about something like this."

"You owe me, Ichigo."

"It's Kurosaki," he replied.

"Not anymore," the voice replied back. "You have to earn your last name, remember? You're just a body now. Why, you don't even deserve a name! Be happy that I'm generous."

_In_. _Out_.

"It's not _that_ bad."

"Your task isn't that bad, either. Worth far less than a name, actually."

"It's a pain in the ass," Ichigo said.

"Well, be screwed or get screwed," the voice scolded mockingly. "You're rescuing a girl after all, and you are _quite_ a handsome young man-"

"Shut up," Ichigo said sharply. "I'll do it, provided that you don't keep up that kind of crap."

Lips turned more upwards into a more menacing grin.

"Fantastic. This smile is sealed."

Ichigo grabbed his sword. He slung it over his shoulder.

"What do I do?" he asked.

"Get a horse," the voice said. "You're playing Prince Charming."

_Out_. _In_.

"I don't play," Ichigo responded.

-----

"She's gone," she lamented. "She's really gone."

The girl grabbed at the boy's shirt, tugging at the white cloth.

"God damn it – she's gone and I can't do a single thing!" she cried. "I'm strong, but not in the way I need to be. I'm not enough. I'm not enough!"

He said nothing.

"They took her away!"

Nothing.

"They took her away!"

Still nothing.

"Uryuu-"

"It's Ishida."

"Whatever. Ishida, please. They took her away."

He said nothing, his dark hair blowing across his face as he looked out the balcony, onto the setting sun, onto the shining stars.

"You can save her."

He squinted.

"You're enough. You're the only one who can."

The sun had almost faded now; only the smallest sliver of a circle remained and half the sky turned black.

"Maybe, Arisawa. Maybe I'm the only one who wants to. The only one who is enough who wants to," he said.

"Yes, well, _will_ you?"

He said nothing as all the sky turned black.

-----

Her long auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders and onto the splintered wood she laid on. It was cold, so very cold. She could see nothing but darkness. She could hear nothing more than muffled voices, thumping steps, echoing across the deck. She could smell nothing but salt and dust and rats.

She had been there for days.

Suddenly (involuntarily), she lurched forward across the ground, the wood scratching her face. The door above her opened, and starlight poured in, only blocked by a single silhouette.

"Well, there you are, princess. We've reached the shore."

-----

"So, we're back! Finally!" a loud voice sounded through the ship.

"We could have been back a long time ago, Grimmjaw," a voice said sharply, "if you had not delayed our departure."

A stifled snicker echoed throughout the crew. The man named Grimmjaw glared, and the echo was silenced.

"We accomplished our mission!" he snarled. "Be happy that _I_ did the dirty work!"

A cold man, slight in stature but great in presence, walked to the front of the boat, gazing onto the land.

"Yes," he said calmly. "The mission was accomplished and we have arrived back - successful and on time. I do not need to listen to your useless arguments. Instead, wake the girl. The treatment she received has been disastrous."

"Oh, do you care, Ulquiorra?" a voice snickered. "I offered to keep her in _my_ room…"

"No," he responded. "But Lord Aizen does."

A hushed murmur echoed throughout the crew.

"Lord Aizen," he murmured. "He'll be waiting for our report. We'll tell him in a few hours, in the morning."

The sun had set, and the cloudless sky twinkled with the countless stars.

-----

Her eyes widened.

"Are you serious, sir?" she asked, almost giddily. She blushed immediately. She was never "giddy."

But the man looking at her smiled.

"Indeed, Kuchiki. I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about the mission!"

She blushed.

"Forgive my-"

"No forgiveness necessary. Just be careful. It's dangerous for a young girl to travel, especially in such parts. But remember – this is very important! The work of a diplomat, the work of an ambassador… I'm counting on you. Be careful around Lord Aizen, though."

She nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm really excited. I'll leave by boat tomorrow."

Her heart beat faster as she walked through the halls.

But if she was so excited, why did she suddenly feel so nervous? Almost as if there was to be a series of very unfortunate circumstances…

_Well, Kuchiki_. _That depends on your definition of unfortunate_.

-----

**AN**: First off, this is (despite the extremely long and kind-of-dark-and-nasty prologue) a very lighthearted, not-to-be-taken-too-seriously piece. Second off, this is experimental. Don't worry; it will _make_ sense. Eventually. Hopefully. Actually, what am I saying? Don't get your hopes up too high.

This chapter was very, very long… but don't worry; the other chapters WILL be shorter. I just wanted to tackle our five main characters. And to anyone who reads my drabble series (like no one… but all the imaginary guys who do it are way cool) – that WILL be updated. I've just been so lazy. XD

And remember – I'm a liar. Don't hate me too much.


	2. Chapter 1: White Horse, Stray Dog

**Circumstance: A Coincidental Fairytale**

**Disclaimer: **_Bleach_… oh, yeah. I own it. It's in a little bottle in the laundry room.

**Word Count: **About 970 (I keep lying. Deal with it.)

-----

**Chapter 1: White Horse, Stray Dog**

-----

"No."

The salesman inclined his head sharply.

"Why not?"

"I want a black horse, Mr. Zangetsu. A white horse would destroy my image," Ichigo said, annoyed.

"You have no image," Zangetsu scolded. "That is why you're buying a horse to begin with."

A large man standing next to Ichigo peered at him through his messy black hair.

"He's right, Ichigo."

"Shut up, Chad."

Chad shrugged. He didn't speak much anyway.

Ichigo glared at the salesman. The salesman glared back.

"Listen," Zangetsu sighed. "Why do you need a horse, then? It isn't for image, is it?"

"It's not," Ichigo replied curtly. "I told you – I have to rescue a princess. She's trapped in Huceo Mundo – you know, that church-palace thing by the shore."

Zangetsu nodded sagely.

"Church-palace thing… highly descriptive."

"Shut up, old man. You know what I'm talking about. We're too far inland, and I want to shorten my trip. Without a horse, it would be an even bigger ass-pain."

The old man shook his head.

"Either way," he said simply, "you aren't buying for image. So just take the white horse."

"No way."

Zangetsu shook his head again.

"Listen," he said. "Why do you want a black horse, anyway?"

"White horses are _lame_," Ichigo snorted. "Can you imagine? I'd rescue this princess on a _white_ _horse_. She would never respect me."

Zangetsu paused.

"Yes," he mused, "it is true that _Prince Charmings_ are out of fashion this year. There seems to be less and less these days. I suppose girls want the angsty, brooding type that writes horrible music and even worse lyrics."

"I'm not a musician. I'm a _knight_."

"Well, that's very charming."

"Yes it – hey!"

Ichigo's cheeks flushed to a dark red color, reminding Zangetsu of a strawberry and an orange. If he saw grapes, he'd lose his customer.

Take the tactful route.

"Do you really need to impress this girl? I thought you just wanted to save her. That's impressive enough, isn't it?"

Silence.

"Ah. Sex appeal."

More silence.

"Well, you do have an awfully big sword."

Chad coughed.

"I'm buying a horse someplace else."

Zangetsu sighed. So much for tactful.

"Please don't."

"Look," Ichigo said, "I need to rescue this Inoue Orihime girl. She's the princess of Karakura. That's a two week journey across the sea from the mainland. I don't need to waste my time chatting away with a sleazy salesperson like you. I want a black horse. A horse. A horse that is _black_."

Zangetsu shook his head again. He was beginning to get a headache from that.

"Seems that you are on an important mission at least. Almost like you need some kind of magical tools."

"Like what?"

"Like a talking sword or something."

"There's no such thing as talking swords."

"Ah."

Ichigo shrugged and said, "There is no magic or spirits or fate in this world. Nothing paves my destiny but me. I believe that with all my heart. Now, give me a horse! It doesn't even have to be black. Just anything but pure white."

Zangetsu winced.

"I only have a white horse."

Ichigo said nothing. Zangetsu said nothing.

"Looks like you're _fated_ to play Prince Charming."

"Shut up, Chad."

Chad shrugged. He didn't talk much, anyway.

-----

"It's so sunny today," she said as the breeze tumbled through her hair. She and her companion stood on the dock.

"Well, there are a few clouds," he replied.

She nodded.

"That's true."

He looked at the girl who looked at the sun.

"Listen… Rukia… Kuchiki Rukia, I-"

"What is it, Renji?" she asked. "Do you want to tell me that I'm incompetent for this task?"

"N-no-"

"I'm just visiting for a few weeks," she said. "That's all. Just maintaining relations. It's so easy that it's almost insulting."

His eyes turned to the ground.

"I didn't mean to insult you."

She turned to him.

"I'm just going to miss you," he said, half mockingly, all tenderly. "Miss Ambassador. Staying at Huceo Mundo all alone."

She laughed. He laughed.

"This is my first time off Soul Society Island," she said. Her gaze softened. "I'm so happy."

He patted her head.

"Then, go."

She fell into his arms and felt his warmth. She didn't hug very often, but she'd regret it if she missed this chance.

"You know the way?" he asked as he let her go.

"Just follow the road," she replied. "After all, all paths lead to Huceo Mundo."

_Indeed, Kuchiki_. _They really do_.

-----

Orihime looked around her new room, quite a chance from her earlier compartment. It was elegantly furnished with large windows overlooking the sea and large balconies that basked in the breeze.

She wanted to cry. Trapped in Paradise.

Sucks to get royal treatment, huh?

She looked at the scary boy in her room, a little boy with blonde hair and freckles and wide-set eyes. The other people had told her that he was harmless and innocent.

Orihime thought he was creepy.

"What's your name?" she asked tentatively, not moving from her bed.

"Wonderwyce," he mumbled. His voice was soft and sweet, and Orihime felt her fears melt away.

"Wonderwyce," she began. "Do you know who I am?"

He didn't respond.

"Well," she continued, smiling, "I'm a princess. I'm Princess Orihime. But you should just call me Orihime. Being a princess is way too stuffy!"

Wonderwyce tilted his head.

Orihime giggled.

"You have to have proper etiquette, you have to be good at ordering people around, and you have to wear stiff clothing all the time!" she chirped. "It's not that bad. But I've been captured because I'm a princess."

She smiled sadly.

"My friends are probably worried about me," she said softly.

Wonderwyce stayed still.

"But there is one good thing about being a princess," she noted. "You know what it is?"

He crawled onto her bed. She stroked the wisps of hair out of his eyes.

"I'm going to be rescued by a prince. A prince on a white horse."

-----

**AN**: Please don't tell me about the length. All I can promise is that chapters will be less than a thousand words because, to be honest, that's too much to read, especially with a lot of banter going back and forth (when Ichigo and Rukia begin interacting around chapter five, it's gonna be editing hell). Yeah… anyway, this is the tone that most of the story will have. Sort of blah and sort of lighthearted at the same time. It should be about eighteen chapters (that's what the draft says anyway).

The reason the Ichigo/Zangetsu conversation went on so long is because I wanted to establish the basics of Ichigo's mission. It was kind of unclear. But now, it should be sort of making sense. Though what does it Ichigo owe? Sorry - that's a secret!

Also, look out for cameos of your favorite characters. The main characters are Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Ishida, and Ulquiorra. Renji stars at the end (if I follow my draft, but remember - I'm a liar through and through). But I'll try to get in as many as possible. It makes me happy to see a favorite minor character in a fic. :D

To everyone who reviewed, you guys all really touched my heart (hello, corny, but it _is_ true). 'Interesting' and my anonymous reviewer called it 'cute'… exactly what I was aiming for! Gee, you guys psychic or something?

I admit that reviews make me feel as if my birthday comes early… which is pretty sweet. But I will update even if I get no reviews (they might come a bit slower, though, sorry). I don't believe in writing a story for only reviews (to people who do: that's cool, too), but they really do encourage, I would say, most writers.

So, next chapter – coming up ASAP! (It's actually already written.)


	3. Chapter 2: Grease, Singing Men in White

**Circumstance: A Coincidental Fairytale**

**Disclaimer: **_Bleach_ isn't mine.

**Word Count: **About 1200 (Ugh…)

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**Chapter 2: Grease, Singing Men in White**

-----

Karakura truly was a magnificent sight.

It was the perfect seaside city, filled with towering structures, palaces fit for kings, and bridges fit for all Lloyd Wright wannabes. There were apartments, ponds, and smart stone cottages with fragrant gardens. It was the beachside town known for its bright sculptures and dark, dark roofs; roofs so dark, in fact, that they said if you were to fly above Karakura City and view it from above, it'd look like jagged coal against the emerald green grass and golden sands. That if you could become a bird, you would see the stars turn black on the ground below. And yet, on the day that Ishida surveyed the city from the very tallest star-shaped tower, he saw no green or gold.

The people were mourning. Mourning still.

They flooded the crowded streets, and threw their hands up in despair for their beloved princess, the guardian angel they swore to protect, had been captured. To so many, to everyone the princess had ever met, she had surpassed being an icon and had become the heir to the nation, a diplomat, and most of all, a friend.

And to Ishida, she was more.

His fists tightened, turning them milky white, as he mulled over what had happened, again and again. She was free. She was captured. She was free. She was captured. In. Out. Out. In.

And he had let it happen.

Ishida winced as he remembered that day, two weeks ago exactly. And Orihime had been chained, dragged along the ground like a captured beast. And he had always considered her the freest of birds, the kind of soul that could see the rooftops of Karakura even when locked in a cellar underground.

"You're being so stupid," said a voice from behind. "All you want to do is angst and be poetic. It wasn't your fault. There wasn't anything we could do, and we did all we could."

"Arisawa Tatsuki," Ishida acknowledged, and the boyish girl nodded. He gazed upon the town again, lost in thought.

She was impatient.

"Enlighten me with your brilliant thoughts," she snapped sarcastic. "Because you know, these great thoughts are probably much more important than Orihime."

"You can't stop those white storm clouds," Ishida sighed, "just as we couldn't stop the men in white."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "I thought that storm clouds were grey."

"Whatever!" Ishida replied, momentarily flustered. "All that matters is Orihime is gone." He croaked. "Gone forever! And this town's spirit… it's all gone."

"Get a grip, man," Tatsuki said. "When you're like this, you can't stop those people's cries. You can't assuage their grief."

"It isn't their grief I cry for," Ishida replied. "My sadness is my own." He looked past the town and into the sea. "But I can heal the town," he admitted. "You're right, Arisawa. I'm going to save her."

"Like I haven't told you to do that for the last two weeks," Tatsuki muttered dryly. "You said it was foolish. Said that you can't save her."

Shaking his head, Ishida said defiantly, "I have to try."

----

"Oh, they'll try," Aizen said as he swept back his grease-infected hair, letting an auburn strand fall perfectly into place between his eyes, "but they can't save her. They'll fail."

Still pacing the room, Ulquiorra protested flatly, "But, sir, they were highly adept at keeping their princess safe in the first place. Grimmjow and Noitora were injured, and Yami, badly so."

"They were good," Aizen admitted, "but not as good as us." He patted his well-toned chest. "That's why we didn't just invade their country in the first place."

"But, sir…"

Aizen sighed, momentarily stopping his physical inspection of his himself. He almost stood up. Almost. "Look, Ulquiorra, while I understand your concerns, I don't appreciate your lack of faith in me."

Ulquiorra bowed immediately.

"I apologize, sir."

Aizen waved him off. His too-skinny, green-eyed subordinate with black hair almost as greasy as his own, was beginning to annoy him, if only ever-so-slightly. Waving his hand again, Aizen gestured to the window.

"Tell me, Ulquiorra, what do you see?"

Cautiously, as if afraid, he'd be tossed out, the young man stepped toward the window and saw the brilliant sea.

"I see the ocean," he said, utterly uninterested.

"Correct," Aizen sighed. "But when Karakura's king signs the treaty, which I'm certain he will, it will be _my_ ocean. _Aizen's_ ocean. Aizen's world. Has a ring to it, doesn't it?"

Ulquiorra didn't miss a beat. "I don't disagree."

Aizen nodded. "Of course not."

"So the girl is the key?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Yes," Aizen replied. "I want a peaceful transition. Karakura's people will fight to the death, but without the princess…" His voice trailed off to great effect. "Well, they're wrapped around my finger."

"But they'll try to rescue her," Ulquiorra pointed out.

"But they'll fail," Aizen replied. "Our forces will stop theirs as they have before." He smiled. "But in the meantime, I have a task for you."

"What is it, sir?"

----

Rukia raced through the damn maze, lousy excuse for a building, panting heavily. She was so unbelievably late, so annoying late, for her meeting with Lord Aizen and this was her first mission! Her brother would be most displeased. Not like he wasn't always that. But he'd be more displeased than usual.

"Right, left, right, left," she repeated. "Damn, had that guy left his directions purposely vague?"

Actually, that guy had. Earlier, she received instructions from a spooky man with an evil grin plastered over his face like old paint. Their meeting had been unnaturally uncomfortable and his advice unhelpfully snide.

"_Left, right, left, right," he said cheerfully. "If you keep turning, you're bound to end up somewhere."_

_Rukia groaned. "I'd run in a circle," she said, clearly annoyed. "Don't you have map?"_

_His grin widened._

"_You can read maps?"_

"_Well," she snarled, "as long as they aren't blank…"_

Lost in her thoughts, Rukia slammed into a wall. Only, she noticed dimly, it was not a wall but a door, and she flopped straight onto the ground. Before her were two men, one with black hair, one with red hair, and both remarkably greasy. Black-hair didn't even turn in her direction.

"Watch Inoue Orihime, Lord Aizen?" he questioned, and his unhappy face looked even more unhappy than usual.

"Yes," Aizen replied. "That would be much appreciated."

Ulquiorra nodded and walked out. Rukia scrambled to her feet.

"Lord Aizen," she gasped. "I apologize for my rude intrusion; I can assure you no insult-"

"Was taken," Aizen interrupted, almost kindly. Smiling, he threw a scroll at her feet. She examined it.

"A map," Aizen said. "One of my castle. Please enjoy your stay, and leave my sight."

Rukia stared at him. She was supposed to speak with him! She was…

Yes, her brother would be _most_ displeased.

"But sir-"

"Leave."

Rukia immediately left, walking into the hall and staring miserably at the paper in her hand. She opened it.

The sheet was blank.

----

**AN**: I'll be the first to admit this chapter sucked. But at least its alive, and there's IchiRuki interaction next chapter. Sorry Ishida was such as wuss. He'll be more manly… eventually. And yes… that is really is Aizen's plan. What? I really needed a plot.

(Yes, IT'S ALIVE!!11!)


End file.
